Today is the first full day of Hanukkah, the Festival of Lights, celebrated in the Jewish religion. Many of you may be asking, “What is Hanukkah?”

According to Wikipedia,

Hanukkah, also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the re-dedication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem, at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE.

Hanukkah commemorates the “miracle of the container of oil”. According to the Talmud, at the re-dedication, there was only enough consecrated olive oil to fuel the eternal flame in the Temple for one day. Miraculously, the oil burned for eight days, which was the length of time it took to press, prepare and consecrate fresh olive oil.

Hanukkah is the recognition and celebration of a miracle. When their leader, Judah Maccabee, and the other Jews who took part in the re-dedication of the Second Temple, lit the lamp, there was enough oil for only one day. They knew that it would take a full eight days to obtain more oil for the lamp, but they lit it anyway. They stepped forward with nothing but faith.

That little light burned brightly not only for the entire day and into the night, but for eight days. As Rabbi David Hartman points out, the miracle isn’t that the there was enough oil for eight days, but rather, that the people lit it in the first place- without being certain that the light would last long enough to complete the re-dedication of the Temple.

In today’s terminolgy, we’d call that a leap of faith, or stepping off the ledge, hoping that our wings will appear on the way down. Judah and his followers may have had a lack of options, but they were willing to take this risk because they were blessed with an abundance of faith.

Whether we’re Jewish or not, we can all appreciate the real miracle of Hanukkah and be inspired to light our own lamps. We can choose to step forward and take risks, with the burning faith that we too will have enough oil to shine brightly.

In this holiday season, may the light of the menorah candles warm our homes and our hearts. Through the festivities filled with latkes, spinning dreidels, songs and tradition, may we take the time to reach out to others, across border and traditions, with open, loving hearts. May we open our minds to the possibilities in front of us and take the risk to be the most magnificent version of ourselves possible.

And most importantly, may we find the light inside, fuel the fire to burn brightly and share the light of love with one another- recognizing and celebrating the miracles in our own lives.

Gail Lynne Goodwin

Gail Lynne Goodwin is the founder of InspireMeToday.com, bringing the best inspiration to the world. InspireMeToday.com provides free inspiration, each day from a new Inspirational Luminary, to a global community of folks from over 150 countries. Gail has interviewed many well-known names including Sir Richard Branson, Guy Laliberte, Seth Godin, Tony Hseih, Gary Vaynerchuk, Michael Gerber, Marci Shimoff, Jack Canfield and hundreds more. According to Mashable, Gail was one of 2009's Top 25 Most Inspirational People on Twitter.
Prior to InspireMeToday.com, Gail spent several years as manager for her recording artist daughter, Carly. As a result of the success of their co-penned song, "Baby Come Back Home", Gail accompanied her daughter to bases in the US and to Guantanamo Bay, Cuba where Carly performed for our troops. Gail and Carly created the 'World's Longest Letter' of love and support and delivered the 18-mile long scroll on a month-long tour of Iraq and the Persian Gulf in 2006.
Gail is excited to present her latest course, Love in 21 Days, a step-by-step guide to finding love online. Love in 21 Days is founded on a logical process that has been tested - and proven! - by not only Gail, but also by students around the world who too have found love.
Gail is a published author and a regular writer for the Huffington Post. She offers mentoring and mastermind services to clients worldwide from her home in Whitefish, Montana. Follow Gail on Twitter or Google+.

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